Invisible Fates (Fire Emblem Awakening)
by RandomAdventures
Summary: When Morgan stumbles upon a certain dragon girl from the future, what could happen between the two of them? Companionship... or something more?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 **It has been a while since I did anything for Fire Emblem... so here goes nothing.**

 **(Please don't expect an update schedule... I am much too busy for that.)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or Nintendo.**

He panted, rushing inside the mansion with a loud grunt.

"Phew..." The cloak-wearing male let out a breath as he removed his hood.

"Lucky. Found this place before the storm could get any worse."

 _"Remember, Morgan. If there is a place you are staying at, check to insure it is safe."_

He swallowed at the calm voice in his mind. "Mother..."

He rose from where he sat, despite his tiredness.

He advanced down a dark corridor, a hand on the old Thunder tome he always kept on his person.

 _I wonder where mother went off to..._ thought Morgan, and that moment of distraction proved disastrous.

A dark figure came out of the shadows, and he saw red eyes rush forward.

"UGH!"

Blood spattered on the ground as a sword cut his arm.

The pain was enough to make Morgan drop the tome he had drawn out.

A hiss sounded as the sword came forth again.

Morgan winced, holding his wounded arm as he managed to dodge the second swing.

He drew his Iron Sword in his left hand, awkward since he usually drew it with his right.

With the pain flaring through that limb, however, that would be impossible.

The Risen let out a low growl, before lunging again.

Morgan sidestepped, allowing the slash to cut a small bit of his long, dirty hair, before plunging his blade through the stomach of the enemy.

Twisting the sword, the undead enemy let out a hiss as he took his sword out, fading away.

Morgan let out a pained wheeze, retrieving his tome inside the cloak.

 _I can't even use mother's present,_ he thought with anger. _It hurts too bad for me to focus long enough..._

He grasped his blade again, turning to head back to the entrance.

That was when the wall next to him burned down.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

He flinched, raising his sword as he swallowed.

"Geez... why won't all these Risen just leave me alone for a second!"

He stared at the beautiful pink dragon in front of him, which let out a huff, some fire coming out.

Then there was a bright shine of light, and there was a young girl in its place.

"Phew," she breathed out. "Never used my dragon form for so long before... huh?"

That was when she saw Morgan, and began to walk towards him.

He fumbled for his sword as she neared.

"It's you, Morgan!" She wrapped both arms around him as glee entered her voice. "Thank Naga you're alive and well!"

He was surprised to find himself wrapping his own arms around the girl.

There was a familiar air to her.

Despite the massive gap in his memories, Morgan just knew he could depend on... whoever she was.

She separated from him, though kept him at arm's length.

"I haven't seen anyone else yet. Glad to see you, though!"

"Um..."

"Oh, and you're hurt!" The dragon girl lifted his arm with a soft, warm touch. "This looks pretty bad..."

"Uh... sorry, but..."

"Hm? Yes?" She looked up at him.

"I'm sorry, but... who are you?"

The surprise and shock rippling through her face made him want to take back his words.

"What...? You don't remember me?"

Morgan inwardly winced at the pure hurt in her voice. "I'm sorry."

"I just... I wonder why you..." murmured the girl, eyes drifting off. "Hm..."

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Nah," she spoke. "I know, it's an odd name, but-"

"That's a great name!" he grinned.

"Thank you." Her eyes closed for a moment, and he could see a faint trace of a smile on her face.

"Morgan..."

"Yes?"

A hiss sounded as a Risen seemed to leap from the dark.

"Watch out!" he shouted, shoving Nah aside, wincing at the usage of his wounded arm. "Ugh..."

"Morgan!"

He gasped, using his sword to block the claws that came at him.

He let out a pant, dodging every swipe by just a little, just enough to study the pattern to counterattack.

He bumped into the wall.

"Ugh...!" He let out a wince, jarring his arm. "GUH!"

The claws sank into him, and a low growl came out of the Risen in front of him.

Then there was fire.

A light, pink burst that burnt the Risen to a crisp, a small ash pile forming in front of Morgan.

He let out a long breath, groaning as he leaned against a wall.

"Morgan, are you alright?"

He looked up to see the worried expression of the other person, looking at him with concern in her eyes.

"I'll be fine," he replied, and stabbed his sword in the ground to support his heavy weight. "Ugh..."

He held his hand to the wetness spreading down his body, coming away with a lot of blood.

"That's not good," he murmured.

"Lee me see." Nah glanced at the injury. "We need to get out of here."

"It's raining outside," he spoke. "And there's lightning, and-"

"Better then Risen!" she snapped. "And you can't even use that tome of yours."

She took his hand, and led him down the corridor, when there was suddenly a wall.

"What...?" grunted Morgan. "How did this...?"

"These walls are why I keep having trouble leaving," muttered Nah.

"So walls... pop out of existence?" Morgan tilted his head. "Huh."

Nah looked back. "More Risen."

 _What would mother do...?_ he thought, back to the wall.

 _I... I have to..._

His thoughts jumbled as new pain surged through him. "Ugh!" he gasped.

"Morgan?!" spoke Nah, turning towards him.

He groaned. "Ugh... I'm fine!"

She turned into a dragon and rushed forward, the Risen collapsing where they stood from her assault.

He couldn't even see her from her speed.

A sword flashed and Nah let out a scream, falling.

"Nah?!" He rushed forward, and gasped as the Risen stabbed her, causing another horrible scream to rip out.

"NAH!" Morgan swung his sword, and the Risen staggered from the unexpected attack.

It turned and slashed at him.

"Ugh...!" He staggered, blocking. _It's using both arms...!_

He let out a harsh wheeze, evading another slash.

He held his breath as he kept dodging by hairs.

Morgan finally breathed out, ducking.

He reached out with his sword and cut the foe in two.

The sword fell to the ground.

He saw the two halves fall and rushed back to his companion.

"Nah, are you alright?!"

She looked at him, breathing ragged. "Morgan..."

Looking at the dark, spreading stain of blood, he saw the one lung had been stabbed.

"Damnit... no more Elixirs?!" he grunted. "Nah..."

 _What kind of sword was that to do this much damage this quickly?!_ he thought, only capable of watching as the sticky redness spread along her clothing.

Her eyes filled with fear. "Morgan... behind...!"

He looked behind himself to see that another Risen had already started to swing a sharp sword.

The wall next to the two of them fell away.

"THORON!"

The beam of lightning went through the head of the undead enemy, and it fell as smoke covered it.

Morgan stared at the new source of light.

There was a woman standing there, with white hair as she removed the hood of her cloak.

Her eyes, filled with curiosity, widened upon seeing the two younger humans.

Morgan could just stare.

"Mother."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 **(Sips non-existent coffee.)**

Morgan stared at the ground, sitting on a crate.

"Don't blame yourself, Morgan."

He looked up. "Mother..."

"That was a tough situation," the tactician told him.

Morgan averted his eyes. "I... I let her get hurt."

Robin folded her arms. "Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not!" he protested, looking back at her. "I... I had the tool I needed to fight, and I just let her..."

"Tell me. How badly hurt were you before Nah was injured?"

"Uh... I took a slash to my arm to I couldn't use my tome, and... some claws sunk into me."

"I see..." Robin sighed. "Morgan... why do you blame yourself?"

He stared. "What kind of question is that? It's my fault!" he spoke, standing. "I should've... I should've..."

She looked at him with patient eyes. "Yes?"

"I... I just... I could've prevented it and didn't." He looked down. "I should've... done more... not let her go... or anything."

Robin sighed. "And what would've happened then?"

"Huh?"

"Come on, Morgan. You're bright. I know that you could tell me what would've happened if you held her back."

"The... the Risen... they would've got both of us."

Robin gave a nod. "Yes. You knew instinctively, as a tactician, that letting Nah face off against the Risen alone would've given both of you the best possible chance of survival compared to anything else."

"And she almost died," he muttered.

"Key word is 'almost', is it not?" Robin patted her son on the head. "Everything's fine now. The two of you are safe, and Lissa's tending to her."

"Yeah, but..."

"Don't feel guilty, Morgan." His mother gave him a small smile. "Sometimes injuries are downright impossible to avoid in war."

Morgan hung his head. "I bet it is."

She sighed again. "How about a brief story... want to hear it?"

"Sure," he mumbled, following the older person.

The two of them were walking down a path into a bright forest when Robin spoke up.

"It was a fight with Risen."

Morgan blinked and snapped to attention.

"It was the first fight of a new Shepherd, the village boy Donnel, after joining us.

"There was a sudden, startling attack by the Risen. We don't know where they came from or how.

"They went instantly for Chrom, so I went and paired up with him."

A shuddering breath. "In my damn haste, I forgot to have anyone cover him.

"I panicked and thought Sumia would be dead from the archer rushing at her, so I had Frederick with her.

"That worked, and he blocked the arrow before sticking his lance inside the Risen.

"Chrom and I were doing well, taking out the enemy with ease, and I heard this horrible scream."

"Was it Donnel?" Morgan's voice cracked.

Robin nodded. "It was dark, and somehow I didn't notice three of them slip past.

"I turned and dropped my sword as I flipped open my tome, but it was too late.

"He was dead before I could throw out a single spell."

Morgan blinked. "R... really?"

"Yes." Robin hid her face with her hood. "I... it was one of the three casualties the Shepherds have received to this day."

He swallowed. "I..."

"It's just... that day, and during all the others when they died, I... learned a hard lesson." She stopped.

"Sometimes death is inevitable. But as tacticians, we can only truly accept the deaths of those who died when we've given the plan everything in our power to at least try to make sure everyone gets out alive.

"And if then it's still not enough... don't let it haunt you to the point of making someone else die."

Morgan sighed. "Mother... you're more experienced then I could ever hope to be."

"Not true, Morgan." She removed the hood and looked at him. "You just need to be in a few more battles and your tactical thinking will be very close to my own.

"Now... it's getting late. It's time to head back to camp."

"Okay." Morgan trailed after the older tactician.

 _Nah..._

...

"Nah?" He spoke in a soft, quiet voice, echoing through the dark tent.

There was the near silence of a mumble.

 _She's asleep._ Morgan breathed out. _Good..._

 _Even if she doesn't blame me... I don't know if I can face her right now._

He turned and took quiet steps away from the entrance, letting a silent sigh fall from his lips.

"Mor... gan..."

He stopped, and turned his face back to the darkness.

"Morgan... are you there?" rasped her voice.

"Yeah, it is." He looked in again.

She was covered by a blanket, and looked at him through the darkness.

"Are you coming in?"

"Um... may I?"

"Of course." A tired smile came from her, seen by the fleeting light upon the camp.

He took a step within her tent.

"Looks like you're... uh... doing fine," he spoke.

She gave him a slight smile, without showing teeth. "Really."

"Yeah..." Morgan scratched his hair. "Nah..." He swallowed, and looked away.

He felt his face warm and found himself unable to look at her as shame filled him.

"I'm..."

"It's not your fault, Morgan." Nah sighed. "I heard that you've been moping around, and I think I can guess why."

He couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes.

"You couldn't have known what that sword would do to a dragon."

"Wyrmslayers... designed specially to tear through the scales of a dragon," he found himself growl.

"You... still blame yourself."

Morgan closed his eyes. "If only..." he mumbled.

"If only what?" Nah coughed.

He let himself stare off into a dark corner. "If only I knew what it was... if only I wasn't hurt... then you wouldn't be like this, Nah."

A longer sigh came from the young girl before him now. "Look at me, Morgan."

He managed to do so, and found his eyes drawn to her own, the way they seem to fade from different shades of green captivating him.

"I knew what it was." Nah looked at him. "The Wyrmslayer, I mean."

He stared at her. "And you still..."

"I did it so you wouldn't get hurt."

"Nah..." He swallowed. "I... next time... I promise you won't get hurt."

He dared to look at her, to see a faint smile emerge on her face.

"I look forward to that day."

He found himself smiling, too.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Morgan yawned, wincing at the soreness in his body, walking as the sun descended.

"Ow," he hissed, holding a hand to where a new scar was already present. "Geez... I didn't expect that Pegasus Knight to rush through that Thunder spell and through me with that..."

Morgan let out a sigh, shaking his hand. There was now a long, ugly scar, reaching from his right shoulder down to his wrist.

"And this...that was just great." Morgan kept his arm by his side, which hid the scar. "Man... how'd that swordsman go before me, anyway?" he mused. "He was almost dead, so I thought his wounds would slow him down, but then he..."

"Does it hurt anywhere, Morgan?"

He looked up, sure that she would call him out on the surprise in his eyes. "Oh... hello, Nah." He smiled at her. "Nah, I'm fine. Er, I mean... um..."

A slight smile of her own came out. "It's alright."

"Phew! Thanks." He grinned. "Sorry, it's just..."

"Anyway... do you hurt anywhere?" She peered closer. "Hm..."

"No. I'm fine." Morgan looked away.

"Alright." Nah came forward until she walked beside him.

The two of them sat, on a small cliff overlooking the camp after the long battle.

"Too bad I couldn't come," commented Nah, and Morgan was reminded of the long, harsh line she would forever be forced to carry on her body. A stab of guilt washed over him. "Lucina told me it was a long, terrible battle."

"It was," replied Morgan. He lay down, folding his arms behind his head with a groan. A flick of pain poked him before fading.

"Tired?" offered the dragon beside him, who sat upright. Her green eyes came to the tactician's own brown ones.

"I'm exhausted," he mumbled, closing his eyes. "And using twenty Thunder spells in the span of five minutes, I have found, is a terrible idea."

Nah gave a soft chuckle. "Well... everything seems to have come out alright, regardless."

"Yeah." Morgan breathed out, opening his eyes again to stare upwards.

Two birds were letting a simple, quiet song flow out, in perfect unison with one another, bringing a smile to his face as he let himself relax.

Morgan let his eyes close, and fell asleep before he knew it.

* * *

A low groan came out of him as Morgan opened his eyes.

He sat upright to see the young girl beside him kneeled over.

"Nah?!" he gasped, rising to his knees. "Are you alright?!"

"Hm...? Oh..." She opened her eyes to look at him, sitting upright. "Ah. Morgan, you've awakened." A slight frown came to her face. "Should I not be alright?"

"It's just... I woke up, and you were hunched over and..." Morgan let out a long breath. "It worried me. Are you sick?"

"I am not. I was just praying, actually."

"Wait... praying?" Morgan felt a row come to his face. "What's that?"

"Well... how to describe it..." she murmured for a moment. "Hm... perhaps it'd be easier for me to just show you."

"I'm watching," responded Morgan, folding his arms to give her an intent stare.

"Alright..." As Nah continued he saw a slight flush on her face. "Like this... you close your eyes, see?" She hunched over, closing her eyes.

"Well, um... keep yours open so you can watch."

"Oh!" Morgan opened his eyes again. "Um..."

A soft laugh came from her. "Ah..." She composed her face and took in a deep breath. "Great and wise Naga, heed my prayer!"

Nah paused, before turning towards Morgan with her eyes open. "Then you offer up your prayer. Naga is an incredibly important deity to the manaketes," she continued. "It's said that if you pray to her... she will guide you to happiness."

"Wow!" grinned Morgan. "That sounds impressive!" He narrowed his eyes. "Naga must be awfully busy all the time."

"Yes!" replied Nah. "Though she does take a moment every now and then to speak with my kind."

"Wow... that's amazing," spoke the tactician. "Hm..."

Looking up, he finally noticed that any traces of the sun were gone, and the moon shone in its place. It was a glowing present Morgan felt he could almost just reach up and touch.

He looked back at Nah. "Were you praying the whole time I was asleep?"

"Well... yes. She spoke to me just before you woke up, actually."

"What'd she say?" wondered Morgan.

""Kids your age shouldn't stay up so late."" Nah had an almost wry smile on her face.

"Heh..." Morgan felt a smile come to his face as well. "Your god's a real mother hen, huh?" He swallowed, feeling an odd nervousness within himself before he next spoke. "Uh... so... can I ask what you were praying for?"

Nah was oblivious to his hesitation. "I wished for peace and happiness in the world," she spoke.

"What did Naga say?" asked Morgan.

"Well... she didn't respond," spoke Nah. "She never does... never has... when I ask for something like that."

To him, Nah seemed downcast with the words. "Uh... well... maybe it's her way of saying that we shouldn't rely on divine intervention!" he tried. _I don't want to see you sad, Nah._ "That we... um... need to... build happiness and peace with our own two hands."

Her face became thoughtful with the words. "Hm... maybe so," responded Nah. "That certainly is a very Morgan-like interpretation, I must say." She looked away from the distance and at him. "You're always so gung ho and optimistic."

"Well... I always say it's better to have more hope then less," he grinned.

"You won't hear any arguments from me," replied Nah, giving a soft laugh.

"Well, maybe we ought to listen to Naga and go back to camp," spoke Morgan, stretching as he stood.

"Yes, we probably should," she agreed, taking his offered hand.

"Well, then..." Morgan peered over the side of the cliff. "Hm... alright."

"Are you going to jump off?"

He paused. "Uh..." Morgan looked back at Nah. "How... did you know..."

"You always were taking risks like that in the future," answered Nah. "Well... not that you would know."

"Well... Nah, could we talk about... how I was in the future?" he asked.

"Sure, I'd be glad to."

"Oh, probably we should do that in camp," mused Morgan. "It's already late and stuff, so..."

"Yes. That sounds great. Oh, but there's a safer way then jumping off a cliff." Nah transformed into a dragon. "Want a ride?"

"I didn't think of this," admitted Morgan, as he sat atop of his friend.

She spread her wings and transformed back within moments, when they were on the ground.

"Thanks, Nah!" he grinned.

"No problem," she smiled back. "So... where should we talk?"

"Well... how about in front of your tent?" spoke Morgan. "Then when it's time to sleep, it's easy on you, and my own tent isn't that far away."

"Aren't you a gentleman," spoke Nah, as they started to move. They took a seat in front of her tent, and she paused. "What do you want to know?" she asked, looking at him with the aid of the nearby campfire.

"What kind of person was I?"

Nah glanced away with the words. "Well... almost exactly like you are now. Though back then you were always stressed with all the strategies and survival of everybody," she spoke, looking at the moon now.

"You would be at your seek every single night, trying to make a strategy for any possible situation. As a result, I would usually bring you food in the morning, when you had fallen unconscious due to exhaustion. And during the evening, when you made excuses that you weren't hungry, I would creep to your room after eating to see you muttering to yourself, hair messy from how much frustration you vented at yourself. All because you thought your strategy wouldn't work for whatever reason." She looked at him then. "You always tried so much to make it so there were no casualties during battle, and were always crushed at every single inevitable death that occurred. At that point you'd stay holed up in your room and look terrible the next day, though still brushing off anyone's worry." A quiet sigh came out.

"I think the worse part of it all was that it would constantly repeat. You must've spent more time in that room then actual battle, honestly."

Morgan sighed. "I worried you a lot, didn't I."

"Yes," she answered. "I could see your bones, and on seldom occasions when you would agree to go outside and relax just to fall asleep, I could see some white hairs."

"Wow," replied Morgan, feeling his hair.

"Oh, there's none there now," spoke Nah. "But I remember this one time... you'd been in there without food for well past 24 hours, trying to put together a new strategy to prevent what happened from happening ever again."

"Wait... what happened?" frowned Morgan.

"The death of one of our friends, who died trying to cover... no, died protecting you," spoke Nah, looking down. "Laurent... the son of Miriel and Kellam."

Morgan swallowed, not wanting to ask.

But he had to. For this Laurent's memory, he had to know.

"How did he die?"

Nah closed her eyes and a small hitch came from her. "I... I don't... I'm sorry, but please ask someone else that question." She stood.

"Nah?" spoke Morgan, starting to stand. "Hey, Nah-"

"Good night, Morgan." She entered the tent and was silent.

Morgan took a step back, not wanting to intrude.

 _Why did she react that way?_

Morgan shook his head as he walked to his own tent, grunting as he lay on the bedroll inside

 _Maybe I should ask Lucina about it..._

 _Because I don't think Nah will like it if I ask her again about it._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 **If there are any problems you believe are present in this story, please tell me so I may strive to improve this work.**

 **Though please keep swearing non-existent if possible. Thank you.**

Morgan opened his eyes for what seemed like the thousandth time that night, and let out a groan as he rose from his bedroll, knowing that sleep would elude him.

 _Maybe Lucina's still awake,_ he thought, placing his old cloak over his tired, battered body, despite the general warmth the night carried.

 _There was that big battle, but she always practices late at night, so..._ Morgan walked out of his tent. _Maybe she can tell me what happened to Laurent..._

A slight stab of guilt hit him. _Someone died for me and I don't even know who he is._ "Damn," he mumbled.

"Is there something wrong, Morgan?"

The young tactician blinked at the words. "Oh... you're still awake, Inigo?"

"Well, in all honesty, I was going to go off and practice some... something." Inigo scratched his hair with a slight flush. "Regardless, if anything troubles you and you want to talk about it..."

"Hm..." Morgan paused, and sat next to Inigo near the fire. "Well... yeah."

"Well, spill it out, friend!" grinned Inigo. "I shall be sure to try and help any way I can."

"Thanks," replied Morgan. "Well... it's about... Laurent, son of Miriel and Kellam."

"Ah." Inigo's face sobered. "Right... you lost your memories, correct?"

"Yeah. Nah told me... he died protecting me," spoke Morgan.

"That is... correct, yes. In a sense."

""In a sense?"" repeated Morgan. "You mean... what do you mean?"

Inigo nodded, looking at the campfire, feeding another piece to it. "Well... something happened to you," he spoke. "To this day, none of us have any idea what happened that day to..."

"Wait... what happened?" Morgan swallowed, now feeling unsure. He just knew he had to know.

"Well, sit tight. This may get a bit... difficult to listen to," spoke Inigo.

"If Laurent died because of me, then I have to know why."

Inigo nodded again. "Well... the amount of Risen that day were at least twice the normal number, for one thing."

"That... couldn't have been easy."

"It had happened once before that time, but... Lucina led us all into battle," continued Inigo. "And for a while, it was the usual... slash through one, roll from a stab, use momentum to attack back with another slash... anyways...

"You had been working on a new strategy the previous night, and it included having me back up Lucina to make a path, with mages and archers just behind."

"That... sounds almost too simplistic," mused Morgan. "Or maybe we were just that awesome."

"Perhaps a combination of both," suggested Inigo. "Regardless, that was what occurred.

"So, Lucina and I cut through the seemingly endless enemy, with you just behind. Beside you were Laurent and Nah." He chuckled. "Those two were one of the most fearsome pairings. Holy fire and then magical flame together easily burned any opponent to a crisp."

Morgan nodded, thinking in his head.

"It was almost over," spoke the mercenary. "I stabbed one with Lucina beside me, and I looked back at you, smiling. At that time, Nah had walked up to you with a breath of relief."

"Your eyes were red, and I sensed a presence from you I had only felt... well..." Inigo paused. "Similar to a Risen, especially when I had just taken a hit... and you used your sword to stab her."

Morgan closed his eyes.

"Nah stared at you, and you took your sword out . Your eyes... they were back to normal then."

This feeling... this splitting headache...

"She was... even now, it's just... blood pumping out of her body... and you staggered back, and..."

Morgan had to say something. Had to, but...

"Morgan? Hey, Morgan, are you... oh no."

He wasn't there anymore.

...

"Nah..."

She stared at him, the fresh, red blood running down her clothing. "Morgan..."

He swallowed, trying to take slow steps backwards, managed only a wobble. _What was that...?_

 _Why did I hurt her?_

 _What the hell made me..._

He couldn't feel his limbs much now. Even the heavy cut he had taken to his face, resulting in harsh heat all over his face, seemed to be gone.

Lucina moved forward, but she wasn't fast enough.

Laurent was in front of her. "Stay back, Morgan!" He flipped his tome open.

"Laurent..." Morgan swallowed. "I... yeah." He managed another wobble back.

"No..." Nah gave Laurent a pleading look. "Laurent, Morgan, he-"

"Perhaps it is due to how Robin was..." murmured the mage, glaring at the younger tactician. "This obviously requires a hypothesis due to the lack of information present, but Morgan-"

As he heard his name, Morgan screamed.

It hurt.

It hurt.

Gods, it hurt.

The ferocious implosion biting and twisting his insides, taking place inside of him, burst outwards with a vengeance.

 ** _Kill them all..._ ** growled a voice. **_DO IT! YOU WANT TO!_**

 ** _After all... my blood flows in your veins..._**

"His eyes...!" panted Inigo, still drained from the earlier fight. "And it..."

"Laurent, mov-" Nah coughed up blood in her palm.

"Brady!" shouted... Lucina?

"Got it! Nah, c'mon, yer gonna be fine!"

Morgan stared, opened his mouth to speak, try at a warning. "I-" _I don't-_

 _ **YOU WANT TO!**_ It screamed, and he gasped, clutching at his head. _**After all... you already hurt the girl... so what's more going to do?**_

 _ **Their low opinions of you can't get any worse... and they deserve it. You know that much.**_

 _No, they...!_

 _ **DO IT!**_

Morgan's last restraints let go, and he stabbed the older man, a jet roar filling the air, the blood seeming to explode outwards in a massive wave.

"Tch...!" gasped Laurent, staggering, and he slid out of the sword, blood pumping out of the new injury, falling to the ground. "Damn... given the known information, I should have realized the high possibility that..." He spat out blood with a groan. "That... you would..."

Then Morgan could control himself again. He could speak, he could...

"Laurent..."

"Hey, Morgan!" Inigo disarmed the tactician, who did nothing. "What are you doing?!"

Morgan stared at Laurent's body, and knelt.

 _Stabbed his stomach,_ he thought, numb. _And... I shattered part of his spine with that attack._

Even as Brady knelt and attempted a strong healing spell, it was obvious that the wound was lethal.

 _Right through his guts, too,_ thought Morgan, seeing the organs spilling out around the mage.

As Laurent stared at Morgan, there was... something in his eyes. Something there... then there was-

Nothing.

The wind had stopped, leaving only silence.

Then there was a light sobbing, from... somewhere to his right?

Morgan tilted his head to see Nah bury her face into the mage's chest, where little blood had spattered, the sobs only growing in intensity.

He stood and left.

No one tried to stop him.

...

He stared at the lake, looking at his hands, sticky with drying blood.

Laurent's blood.

 _What the hell was that?_

 _What the damn hell made me do that?_

"Morgan."

The tactician stood at the voice.

"I need you to kill me."

Lucina flinched at the words. "What...? No, I-"

"So that no one else dies..." He couldn't meet her eyes. Couldn't meet the inevitable grief, disappointment and...

The little bit of her that was scared of him.

"It's best if I die. Kill me, Lucina."

"No," she responded. "I... there will be no more death today."

"Maybe not, but who knows about tomorrow? Or the day after, or in a week?" A snarl defined Morgan's face as he stared out over the water. "From what happened today, you never know when that... urge... to kill will be back."

The princess looked away with a sigh. "Morgan..."

"Everyone probably hates me," he murmured. "And why wouldn't they...? I killed Laurent..." _Like how mother..._

"No..."

"Why not?" he spoke, feeling a rush of tiredness come over him.

"You... you don't... I can't do that to you. I..."

Morgan groaned, muscles screaming as he stood. "Really."

"No." Lucina's voice was firm now. "I won't kill you, Morgan. We need you."

"Need me, huh?" Morgan laughed. "Oh, that's funny. So you need a murderer roaming free, is what you're saying."

"Morgan..." She was struggling for the correct words. He could feel it. "It is... you..."

"If you won't kill me..." He let out a long sigh, turning away. "Then leave me alone."

She let out a soft sigh, her footsteps indicating her leaving.

 _That voice... what the hell was that?!_

Morgan, despite the caked blood on his hands, clenched them.

 _What the fuck made me do that?!_

He lifted his face, just enough, at the sky.

And he let himself cry.

...

"Unh..."

He was staring at Nah, whose eyes were wide. Not with fear, but... with...

He saw a sword in his grasp, moving at her stomach.

"No!" he gasped, jerking back, letting the blade drop from his grasp. It fell to the ground with a dull thud.

"Morgan..." Her voice was but a whisper as she started to sit upright from her current position.

Morgan's cloak was covered in sweat, and he panted, staring at her.

"Morgan!" Inigo burst in with a grunt. "Are you-" He stopped.

Morgan stared at him. "I... remember." He swallowed, dropping his gaze to the ground. "I remember... how I killed Laurent."

Nah froze in the dim light from the campfire, which felt miles away to Morgan as he shivered.

Morgan ground his teeth together and sighed. He pushed past Inigo, who let him leave.

He walked out of camp, head down, placing the hood over his head.

As he wandered, he felt a tear fall.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 **Apologies for taking rather long with this next chapter.**

He sighed, sitting at the edge of a lake. An arm rested on his leg, a strong, cold breeze rushing outwards. Dark clouds gathered overhead.

Morgan's eyes were closed as the thoughts flooded his mind.

 _I killed him,_ he thought, looking at his hand. "Great."

 _If what Nah said was true... when did I go back?_ wondered the tactician. _Did I try and sneak in? Was I brought back by someone?_

He let out a long breath, rubbing his eyes as the sun started to shine across the lake. His eyes settled on a small caterpillar inching its way across a tree, following it as his thoughts continued.

 _Probably best to just ask someone on that too._ Morgan tore his eyes off the caterpillar and lay down on the damp, cold ground with a groan.

 _And Nah... she loved Laurent... no, that's wrong. She still loves him, even now._

He grunted and shook his head. _Guess... guess all that time... it was all a waste in the end._

"Man," groaned Morgan. "Heh... ha haha..." A smile was on his face, and despite the gravity of the new knowledge, he couldn't wipe it from his face. He looked up at the sky, still dark.

"Gods. I really did kill Laurent."

 _That feeling... was it..._

It... almost... kinda sounded like...

"Mother..."

He blinked as he whispered the word aloud.

"Wait... what am I talking about?" Morgan laughed again. "Mother... she-she wouldn't say something like that to me. Th-that's crazy talk... heh..." He swallowed, looking down at the ground, both cold and wet.

He groaned, letting himself fall to the ground.

"It... it must've... been someone sounding a lot like her..." Morgan let his tired eyes close.

Right?

There was a rustle in the bushes to his right.

He pulled out the old Thunder tome, flipping to a random page and aiming, noting his inability to get up fast enough.

"Morgan... it's me." Nah walked out of the bushes, hands up.

He allowed his outstretched hand to fall to the ground, and he closed the tome with a sigh. "Hello, Nah."

She paused, standing beside him. "Um..."

"What do you want?" spoke Morgan, placing the Thunder tome back in his pocket.

Nah froze, hands held to her chest, hurt eyes glancing at him before looking towards the nearby lake. "Yes," she spoke, swallowing. "But..."

"But what." Morgan stood. "After all... I killed the man you loved." He looked towards the lake before looking at her. "The man you love still."

Nah took a half step back from him at his words. "Morgan..." An unhappy sigh came out of her. "I... I don't know anymore."

He clutched his head with a sudden gasp of pain bursting through it. "ARGH!" The spike driving into the back of his head was dizzying, and he saw the world start to turn sideways.

 ** _Do it... kill that accursed Naga spawn..._** The voice was different to when he killed Laurent. More... masculine?

 _No! I... she's my friend, I can't!_

Despite his best attempt, his hand was moving into his cloak again, fingers starting to touch the rough cover of this tome.

"Morgan...?" The girl before him started to step forward. "Are you alright...?"

"Ugh," groaned Morgan. "Damnit..." His hand brought the Thunder tome out, shaky as he resisted the limb, which flipped open the tome to a random page.

 _I... I can't..._

 ** _YOU CAN, AND YOU WILL!_**

Morgan screamed.

"MORGAN!" gasped Nah, moving forward to catch him as he fell. "You're..." Holding his now limp body, her breath caught. "Your eyes..."

He took in the power from the magic tome, concentrating a lightning bolt in his grasp. The bolt had several, smaller bolts around it.

Get away, he needed to tell her, but no words formed as he opened his mouth. Get away, Nah, leave me!

His hand shook forward, and he was unable to stop it, her eyes were going to be just like Laurent's, lifeless and-

And gone.

 _NO!_

The sharp word cleared his consciousness for a second. A long enough frame of time to slam the bolt of lightning somewhere into himself.

A howl rushed out of him, and he fell to the side, the impact causing his hand to drive the bolt deeper into him.

"MORGAN?!" cried out a distant voice, which faded as pain filled all his senses.

The bolt dissipated, the electricity flowing throughout his entire being.

Darkness engulfed him.

* * *

His eyes opened to see the ceiling of a pitch-black tent.

What next registered was the dull pain in his hand and abdomen.

"Ugh..." With a gasp, he managed to sit upright just enough to peer at his abdomen, covered in bandages, pink with slight drops of blood.

Morgan looked at his hand next, which felt hot, hotter then the rest of his body. It too was bandaged. The skin around his entire limb, though the hand in particular, felt weak and... different from his left arm.

He felt a light gaze on him, and looked towards the medical tent's entrance to see his mother there.

"Hello, Mother," he spoke, coughing afterwards. He didn't think his throat and mouth were quite that dry.

"Hello, Morgan." Robin stepped inside. "May I ask what occurred to get you to stab yourself with your Thunder magic?" She frowned. "Though... with your Resistance in comparison to your magic ability, I don't know how you managed to do so much damage to yourself."

"Wha... huh?" He rubbed his eyes. "What happened...?"

"Nah says she found you, then you stabbed yourself with a powerful lightning magic," spoke Robin. "And you appeared you were in pain before that." She crossed her arms. "Care to explain, Morgan?"

"You would never believe me, Mother," he spoke, looking away from the tactician.

"Oh?" Robin sat at his bed. "Well, tell me first before you decide that, hm?"

"Well... alright," spoke Morgan. "There was this voice inside my head... kinda... deep and stuff. It was like... I obeyed him. I couldn't resist."

Her eyes flickered with his words, though she blinked and any emotion inside of them faded away. "I see."

"So... I was going to stab Nah, but... I controlled myself for a second and I directed it into me instead," he spoke.

Robin nodded. "Alright... thank you for telling me, Morgan."

"Anything for you, mother!" smiled Morgan.

Robin nodded, smiling back at him. "I should leave you to get some rest." She ruffled his hair. "Sleep tight, Morgan."

"Thank you, mother." He lay down, a yawn slipping out of him. "That... ugh... sounds good..."

He heard the quiet footsteps of the Grandmaster leaving the tent, and settled nice and snug underneath the thick sheets.

 _Nah... gods,_ thought Morgan, allowing his eyes to close. _It's never gonna be the same between us, is it._

A sigh rose. "Well... I hope we can at least be friends," he spoke.

"I... hope so too, Morgan."

"Whoa?!" he gasped, flinching back as the person on the bed next to him moved over. "Oh... hi, Nah." He breathed out. "Geez, I didn't see ya there!"

"I was asleep until Robin left," she replied, shifting to look at him. "The last battle was a tough one."

"Wait... you guys got in a fight?!" Morgan sat upright, a sharp wince breaking out of him as he did so. "Ow... that hurt."

"Yesterday," spoke Nah. "We found Gerome in Wyvern Valley, and recruited him."

"Huh..." Morgan let himself lie down again. "Gerome... I... don't remember him."

"He's Cheche's son," spoke the young Manakete. "Rides Minvera into battle, usually hiding behind a mask. He's a good person though."

"I bet he is," muttered Morgan. "Nah... um... listen, I... I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"Uh... well... I haven't gotten that far yet," he spoke. "But... for what I said to you at that lake, I guess. It wasn't very... nice."

"Oh... if that's all, then it's alright," she replied. "Don't worry about it, Morgan."

"I can't just not worry," he spoke. "I... used your feelings for Laurent against you, and..." He groaned, rubbing his eyes, searching for any words that might just convey what he desired to say. "I apologize about what I said."

She didn't say anything, though he heard the noise of Nah getting up. "Morgan..." Her eyes focused on him for a moment before moving away.

"Just because someone dies doesn't mean you stop loving them," he ground out, a hot and sickening feeling developing inside him.

 _Doesn't make it hurt any less though._

Nah let a sigh escape. "There's... nothing..." He saw her swallow, before bringing her gaze back to look at him. "To apologize for."

"Thanks," he murmured. "But... if nothing else, my peace of mind, then."

"Alright... thank you for being sorry," she spoke. "It... means a lot to me."

Morgan nodded. "Mm." He tried to smile at her, though it fell quickly. "Yeah..."

A very small giggle rose from Nah.

A stifling silence came between the two of them, at least it felt so at first.

The awkwardness lessened, their eyes met, and...

The bud of smiles appeared on both of their faces.

 _Maybe..._ he thought. _Even if Nah still loves Laurent and stuff..._

 _It'll all be alright in the end._

"Hey, Morgan, Nah!" A chirpy voice came from the entrance. "Ooh, the both of you are awake, huh?" Cynthia entered the tent with a wide smile on her face. "Good, because I have breakfast for the two of you!"

"Hi, Cynthia," spoke Morgan, feeling himself grin. "Thanks for breakfast." The delicious warm smell drifted over to him from the plates she held, though he doubted he would even get to enjoy the food.

Nah rose from her bed."I'd better help you with those before you trip," she spoke. The Manakete took the two plates, and just in time, as Cynthia started to wobble.

"WAH!" she gasped, falling over.

"Hey, watch out!" Acting out of instinct, Morgan reached out for the Pegasus Knight and caught her in his arms, a slight wince coming out as he stretched out to support the fellow time traveller. "Man... you should be more careful!" he spoke, good-natured laughter coming out as he helped to steady her upright. "Or, er... try to be, anyway."

"Thanks, Morgan!" grinned Cynthia, dusting herself off. "Anyways, I wanted to talk with Gerome, so I'll see you guys later!"

Morgan smiled after the daughter of Sumia as she left. "Heh... just as klutzy," he mused.

"You make it sound like you've been asleep for a long while," spoke Nah, holding a plate out to him.

"Well... eh... I dunno," he replied, taking the plate. "It..." _After those two voices and regaining some of my memories..._

 _Gods, it feels like an eternity._

Before he could think more deeply about it, his stomach let out a loud, gurgling sound, and he was reminded of the sudden emptiness that had suddenly become present.

"Well, at the very least, it's been a long while since I last ate!" laughed Morgan, trying at a joke as he started to take big mouthfuls of the amazing meal.

A laugh and a smile came from his companion. "Seems about right," spoke Nah, starting to dig into her own meal.

Whilst eating, Morgan felt his thoughts turn to somewhere darker, and he felt his smile fade, though hid that fact by eating some more.

 _At this rate... I'm going to kill Nah._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Morgan whistled, walking along the rather desolate road, leaves falling from the trees above, which were turning yellow and orange with the cold of autumn. Watching, he saw a leaf fall, a caterpillar on it, freezing up as it hit the ground atop its leafy land. After a few moments, it slowly began to crawl away from the leaf, and inched forward in a random direction.

 _Like a kid leaving the house for the first time,_ he thought. "Hm..." _Or..._

"I AM CYNTHIA, VANQUISHER OF EVIL!"

"JESUS!" shouted Morgan, even whilst exclaiming bringing his tome out of a pocket and raising a hand to aim at her. The Thunder magic manifested around his hand, with the Pegasus Knight stopping to beam at him. After a moment he allowed his hand to relax and the magic dissipate, feeling himself sweat. _I almost..._ "Gods, Cynthia... you scared me a few years off my life!" he deadpanned.

"Whoops! Sorry, Morgan!" grinned Cynthia, a laugh coming from her afterwards. "Just... my heroic entrance, ya know?!"

Taking a deep breath to re-compose himself, Morgan offered a smile. "Well, you're certainly as chipper as ever," he spoke. "That Warrior with the Silver Axe last battle didn't get you too badly?"

"Well..." She rubbed at a forearm, smile fading somewhat, which was the location she had suffered the drastic wound.

He would know. He watched it happen just as he let his guard down, after using Thunder to kill a Sniper and-

"I got all healed up, so it's alright!" Cynthia's smile returned, though a bit more forced now. "Brady's a really good healer, after all!"

"Yeah, he is," spoke Morgan. rubbing his abdomen inside his cloak where a Mire spell had gotten the jump on him. _Not as good as Lissa, but..._

"And besides, if I've gotten anything to offer, it's pep!" declared Cynthia, skipping forward as the two of them walked next to each other. "Belting out catchphrases and awesome hero speeches never fails get me going!"

"Heh... so that's your secret, huh?" Morgan gave her another smile.

"Yep!" Cynthia gave him another smile. "Y'know..." Pausing, she peered closer at him. "And if you're ever feeling worn down, I just can't recommend it highly enough!" She tilted his chin up a little bit. "Hm... you should try it right now, Morgan! You're not looking that... up, I guess?"

"Well... alright, I guess I will," spoke Morgan. "Let's see... um..." He looked sideways, and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "I... I am Morgan, the, uh..." _Dammit, what do I... well, light is a contradiction to dark and gloomy, which I've kinda been feeling lately, so..._ "The... unwavering light... that makes bad guys... really sad!" he declared, trying a pose.

Cynthia watched this all with apparent glee, judging by the growing smile on her face once again. "Well?"

Morgan blinked. The dark thoughts that had been plaguing him seemed... a little farther away somehow. "Wow... you're right, Cynthia!" He grinned, laughing. "That felt really good! With some practice, I bet that I could really get used to this!"

"That's the spirit!" declared the Pegasus Knight. "And it's always great to find someone else who appreciates the art of heroism!"

"Heh... yeah, it does seem like we're something of a matched pair," he spoke, the words coming out. He blinked after saying them, realizing the truthfulness in said words. _And yet..._

 _Being with Nah has that little bit being with Cynthia just doesn't have..._

"And that means it's gonna be up to the two of us to keep the speeches going until everyone's energized!" declared Cynthia.

"Yeah!" grinned Morgan, looking outwards. "Look out, world! I'm gonna shout until my voice is hoarse!"

"Ya nailed it!" spoke Cynthia. "Nice, Morgan! Oh, wait!" She gasped. "I was supposed to have a hero chat with Gerome! Sorry, Morgan, gotta go!" Sumia's daughter rushed off after her words, leaving a trail of dust behind.

"Huh... really is flighty," spoke Morgan. "Well... maybe I'll go back to camp and get some rest, or... hm... I could go to the nearest town and maybe buy something..." He dug out his coin pouch, tied with a dull gray string.

"Though... it feels like Nah's been... nah, not indifferent, but..." He palmed his face upon realizing his mistake. "Yet... we haven't spent that much time together recently... which has translated into battle too... He kept walking the road, which led to town, which had some bakeries and goods.

"Huh..." Morgan put his gold back into his cloak as he entered the town itself. "Though..." _Cynthia with that Galeforce skill from Sumia, as mother and I have found, makes her and I a really good team. She can attack and I give covering fire with magic, especially with there's an Archers or Snipers..._

 _Nah and Brady make for a devastating team, too. Ever since he became a Sage, her draconic breath and his Bolganone tome can take out essentially anything, even Falcon Knights or Dark Fliers..._

 _Or Yarne and Nah. Warne can take out Cavalier with ease as Nah takes out Wyvern Riders, as well as the two of them being rather slippery and difficult to hit. She can provide cover from a distance as Yarne gets up close and personal._

"A lot of combinations better then Nah and me," he spoke aloud, a sigh coming out unheard amongst the busy town.

 _Maybe I should just try to... stop being friends with her? Where are my thoughts going?_ thought Morgan, restraining the urge to slap himself. _Mother spends time with every member of the army, so I should try to be like her! I can't avoid Nah, I just... should be a bit more careful of what I feel towards her, I guess..._ He allowed another quiet sigh to escape, and stopped to note where he was.

"Morgan!" shouted a panicked voice, which the tactician recognized as Yarne from the shadows in the nearby alleyway. "Come over here!"

"Okay..." Morgan moved over. At Yarne's nod the two proceeded to move deeper into the alleyway, until they were trekking to the edge of the town. "Wait, what's the-WHOA?!" He gasped, instincts urging him to flip out his Thunder tome and deflect the thrown Short Spear about to claim his head. "The hell just... NAH?!" he shouted. "Why's there so many..."

"Gh! The boy has backup!" shouted a Soldier, readying a Steel Lance. "Take the girl away, boys! We'll hold them off!"

"NNGH!" gasped out Nah, mouth covered by a rag. "MMGH!" She got dragged away by some more soldiers, desperate sounds rushing out of her.

"I was hoping to buy something... Yarne, do you have your Beaststone?" spoke Morgan, using a quick Thunder blast to take down the enemy with the Short Spear. _Gonna be too dangerous to use my sword..._

The Taguel beside him flashed before the familiar rabbit form emerged. "How're we gonna do this?!" he shouted.

"Simple... I use magic to take out the guys dragging... Nah..." Pausing, he let loose a Thunder spell at the Soldier rushing at his side. "Geh... and you cover me from the rest of them. Then, clear a path really quick so I can grab her and we run! Though if they also have Cavalier units, then... I'll deal with them as they come. Ready?!" grunted Morgan.

Yarne nodded at him. "Yeah!" He charged forward, his tackle eliminating the first Soldier to come at him.

Morgan breathed out, concentrating another Thunder spell, looking to where one Soldier was still dragging Nah along by an arm.

 _I need to kill him in one shot,_ he thought. _But this guy's tough... from what I can see, he can just barely survive a single spell._

 _If that happens, I can't get another chance. I won't be able to catch up and Nah's gone._

He closed his eyes, the cries of the battle before him intense and harsh.

Morgan felt his blood turn hot, his physical strength rapidly starting to drain. He panted, opening his eyes again.

The Thunder spell was was larger now, at least twice as large now.

He felt a weak smile come to his face, looking forward to where the Soldier was rushing away. _This... mother's told me about this._

 _This skill is..._

"Ignis!" he shouted, firing off the spell.

The Soldier froze as the spell struck his back, before falling with an odd sense of gracefulness.

Morgan panted, falling to one knee, groaning. _Damn... how does mother manage to use that skill so much? It's exhausting...!_

"MORGAN!" shouted Yarne, rushing over to him. "Quick, get on me! We gotta get Nah before they do!"

"Y-yeah..." The tactician managed to heave himself on to the rabbit, who dashed towards the Manakete. Swallowing, Morgan reached out and grasped the girl's arm, with her landing in his lap. He took the gag out of her mouth and smiled weakly at her. "Hi..."

"Morgan!" she cried, coughing as she buried her face in his chest. "Oh, gods... that was... that was just...!" She started to cry.

"It's alright," he spoke, embracing her. "It's going to be alright." He breathed out, letting her go to flip out his Thunder tome again. "Man... these bandits don't know when to give up," he mused. "Also, you alright, Yarne?"

"Y-yeah... why... hah... do you... ask?" panted the Taguel, as he kept running.

"Nah, do you have your Dragonstone?" spoke Morgan.

"No," she spoke. "When they surprised me in my tent, I dropped it."

"Okay then..." He wiped his brow of sweat, letting a harsh breath out. "If only there was an aerial unit..." He shot a Thunder spell and a Soldier fell, dead. _We're gaining, but Yarne's getting tired pretty fast... Nah can't fight... got no choice._

"Yarne," spoke Morgan. "I'm gonna take out the rest of them. You get back to camp as fast as you can, and get Nah healed." He rubbed some blood from his cheek. "Looks like she's taken a bad knock to the head. Anyways, I'll see you guys later!"

"Wait, Morgan-" He ignored Nah's words and leapt off of Yarne, groaning as he stumbled and slid along the ground.

"Ugh..." Taking in a large gulp of air, Morgan prepared another Thunder blast. _This is going to get tricky..._

"Well, well, well... so you're gonna sacrifice yourself to make sure your friends get away?" spoke one of the bandits. "Mighty kind of ya."

"I don't plan on sacrificing myself," spoke Morgan, shooting out a Thunder spell to deflect a Spear. _This is bad... four of them and I'm too tired to use my sword..._

"Well, well... come to papa!" roared a bandit, charging forward.

"But I won't lose." Raising a hand, Morgan fired another Thunder spell before the spears were all upon him.

What soon happened next was Morgan on the ground, panting hard, covered in blood.

Most of it was his own, Lissa later told him, though a fair amount belonged to the four bandits whose bodies lay burnt on the ground from an excess of electricity forcefully blasted into them.

The tactician's left arm had been impaled by a spear, and thus had a few shards embedded in the limb. Morgan clenched his teeth together as Brady managed to get them all out of him.

He received several visitors throughout the days afterward, though the one he really wanted to see only came to him once in the night.

* * *

A sigh rose from him, shifting with a slight grimace. Brady was gentle getting the spear fragments out of him, but it still hurt, despite some Physic spells thrown at him.

Morgan rested his head on the pillow again, closing his eyes. The throb of his wound caused him to hiss and open his eyes, however.

"Ugh," he mumbled out. "Damn, this still..."

"Morgan?"

It was barely a breath, almost the winds howling through leaves and branches, in fact.

"Nah?" he spoke aloud, and the gentle quietness of the medical tent seemed to make his voice louder then it was. "You..."

"I... couldn't sleep," she admitted. "Whenever I close my eyes to do so, I... I see those bandits coming to get me again... over and over..."

Morgan nodded. "Mm..." He groaned, shifting to one side so his exhausted left arm wasn't banging against the bed.

"Um..." From the Manakete, he sensed an intense blush, and she looked away. "Morgan... could I... ah... sleep with you tonight...?"

"Sure," he replied, adjusting himself a little bit to make room for his companion on the cot. When she didn't come over to lie beside himself Morgan looked over at her. "What're you waiting for?"

"I... didn't think you would agree that fast," spoke Nah, moving until she rested beside him with ginger movements.

"If you ever need anything, just ask. I'll help you as best as I can," spoke Morgan, intertwining his hand with hers without thinking much about what he was saying and doing. His face feel hot as he took her hand in his and yet...

It just seemed... right somehow.

She near flinched, though a warm smile settled on her face afterwards. "Thank you," she murmured, settling her head on his chest with a very aware slowness.

Morgan breathed out, feeling the light, warm weight of his friend atop of him. A smile settled on his face as Nah's expression became one of blissful sleep.

Being there, watching that peacefulness on her face, tiny breaths moving out of her with colourful hair almost tickling his nose...

It was nice.

 **That was actually pretty fun to put together.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Morgan gasped, jolting upwards from where he was.

His arm shifted, yet didn't move. When he peered towards whatever was preventing him from free movement, his gaze softened upon noticing the young Manakete whose arms was wrapped haphazardly around his.

 _It was a dream._ He groaned into the palm of his free arm, relaxing and letting himself fall back.

"Thank god," he spoke. "It was..." Morgan took in a deep breath, holding his breath before releasing the gulp of oxygen.

He swallowed, feeling his sweaty body become cold due to the general lack of warmth from the weather.

 _Just a dream..._

Nah mumbled something from beside him, clutching his arm closer to herself.

Morgan closed his eyes, and despite the remnants of the nightmare leaping at him, fell asleep.

* * *

He sat up from where he lay on the field with a sigh, stretching out so his arm popped. "Ugh," spoke Morgan, looking at the limb. Despite Brady and Lissa's best efforts, ever since the lance fragments had penetrated it, there was always a small constant feeling of weakness his other arm didn't have.

He shook it with a groan and settled down again.

"Maybe I should go do something," spoke Morgan, getting up and dusting himself of stray bits of grass.

While cleaning off his cloak, Morgan saw a hunched over figure further down the field, within a nearby tree's shadow. He dashed towards the figure, worry flooding his mind. Whoever that was, they could be in real trouble, or-

He let out a breath of relief, allowing himself to slow and relax once he got a closer look at the clothing of the young girl. A smile grew on his face as he came closer. "It's Nah..." he mused aloud, trying to calm his still rapid heartbeat and pulse.

The half-dragon remained silent, barely even moving.

"And hard at prayer again today," grinned Morgan, taking a seat beside her. He let his own eyes close and took a deep breath.

 _Nah wasn't... she's still alive. That dream's just a dream._

Despite the reassurance of his own words and the fact that he could see Nah breathing beside him, his mind still kept creeping back to the bloody form of hers as he used his Thunder tome to slowly take the life out of her eyes and then some.

Then it came to discarding his own clothing and ripping the shreds of whatever still remained on Nah's body, and-

Morgan felt sick.

"That should do it," sighed Nah, moving from her hunched over position and opening bright, beautiful green eyes. Though he hadn't quite noted it down before, he saw now that her lively eyes were of an even lighter shade then her hair colour. Nah shook her head, groggy and stiff movements following from there as she blinked several times, likely adjusting the bright field before her.

As he watched, Morgan couldn't help but smile and chuckle. The sound caused her to whip her head around, though she relaxed and smiled upon seeing it was him. Nah shifted closer and lay down so that her head lay in his lap. "Hello, Morgan."

He swallowed past the bile in his throat, managing to keep smiling back at her. "Hey, Nah." He almost flinched as his mind shifted to her in the exact same position, but bloody, naked and forced to take a large erection into her mouth.

 _What's happening to me?!_ Morgan shook his head for a second before smiling at her again. "How's it going, Nah?" he asked. _Say something... anything to get that awful image out of my head, please, Naga..._ "Talking to... Naga again?"

"Yes, and she responded this time," spoke the Manakete a soft chuckle gracing her facial features. "Though... the revelation I received wasn't quite what I was hoping for," she admitted. "She wished for me to bring her more offerings."

"What, is Naga a jealous god or something?" _Ack, shouldn't say that about the god I'm praying to!_ "Um... uh... what kind of offerings does Naga want anyway?" Morgan's mind scrambled to the first edible he could think of. "Bear meat?"

"Wha... Naga is not a jealous god!" Nah rose from where she had been resting to glare at him.

Despite that fierce stare and the risk of being eaten later, Morgan breathed a sigh of relief. Having her away from him helped push that disturbing image out of his head.

 _And I can't just avoid her,_ he thought. _That's not right to her, and it won't solve anything._

Nah sighed. "Anyway... Naga wanted me to bring her a flower."

"That doesn't seem too difficult," noted the tactician. "Any particular kind?"

"Well..." The Manakete seemed reluctant, though the difficulty of the task appeared to persuade her to tell him. "Naga's Bell. A flower that only blooms every 200 years, and only beneath a full moon. Well... that's what the legends say, regardless." Nah looked sheepish. "I have personally never seen it..."

"Well, that's a good thing, right?" spoke Morgan. "If you haven't seen it, then maybe that 200 year period hadn't yet passed! But now... maybe it has!" He tried to smile, ignoring that damn image still in his head.

"I suppose," she replied, with a smile of her own. "Ah, it also only grows in remote, craggy terrain human civilization has not touched."

"Sounds like a tall order," he spoke. "And... really specific."

"It's supposed to be near impossible to find," sighed Nah, smile fading. "Naga's given me quite a doozy this time... but you can't just ignore a direct order from a deity, right?"

 _Or you could._ "Well... do you want some help in looking for it?" asked Morgan, almost cursing as the words just came out. The way she beamed at him was enough for him to feel relieved, however.

"Yes, that would be great, Morgan." Nah rose with a stretch. "Yet... at the moment I don't have any ideas. Give me a little time to think of something, alright?"

He also stood, groaning as he cracked his neck. "Yeah, no problem!" he spoke. "And I'll go looking at some dusty old tomes, too... just in case."

"That'd be a great help, Morgan, thank you." Nah nodded towards him. "Hm... alright, thank you once again. I'll come see you later when I have an idea."

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Morgan waved to her as she started to leave, and she waved back. When she had gone, he let out a long breath.

 _I'm going to go crazy at this rate._

* * *

"Mother... are you busy?"

Robin turned to face her son and smiled. "Of course not, Morgan." She moved a book to one side of her desk, in a vain attempt to hide the map she was looking at.

"If you're strategizing right now for the next battle, then it can wait until later," spoke Morgan, starting to back out of the tent.

"It's fine," she spoke, rising from her seat. "I need to take a break anyway, so let's go outside and converse, hm?"

"Alright." Morgan walked out, following the Grandmaster as she stretched.

Night had fallen, leaving the sky above a dark navy blue. The night's camp had a warm temperature despite winter coming soon, resulting in a joyous atmosphere. Gregor was drinking whilst Nowi was beside him, a considerably smaller mug in her hands.

"So... Mor-" Robin yawned, drawing out his name. "Ugh... sorry. What did you want to talk about?"

"Are you alright, Mother?" spoke Morgan, peering at Robin. "You have some really deep circles under your eyes."

"It's nothing." She smiled. "Though thank you for worrying. Regardless of myself... what were you going to ask?"

"Have you heard about Naga's Bell?" he asked.

"Naga's Bell, hm...?" Robin mused the words over. "Nowi told me about it once. Flower that blooms once every 200 years, if memory serves me correctly."

"Yeah," spoke Morgan. "Nah wants some help to find it, so I..." He trailed off.

"How sweet of you," his mother spoke. "Well... no tomes or books I've read so far have mentioned it to me. Sorry, Morgan, looks like I can't really help you this time." She sighed.

"Ah, no problem, mother!" he responded, a grin coming to his face. "Anyway... if you're up to it... do you mind playing a game of chess with me?"

"Chess, hm?" The older tactician smiled. "Well... the strategy can wait until tomorrow. Come on, let's go."

"Great! 'Cause Laurent played a few games with me, but he's really good! Once I got close to his king, but then his knight came in and it was over!"

Robin laughed. "Laurent's really good at chess. Virion as well, but I do have a few tricks that might help you out, son..." Her eyes twinkled. "Especially with Nah."

"Mother... are you teasing me?" spoke Morgan, smiling.

She ruffled his hair with her own smile widening. "I am indeed. You care a lot for her. In fact... unless I'm mistaken, she's the person you spend the most time with... wonder if there's something there." Robin peered closer at him.

"Mother... you almost sound like you're playing matchmaker," commented the younger tactician.

"Well..." She laughed once again. "Heh... c'mon, Morgan. I have a chess board in my tent." She walked off, hands in her pockets.

"Alright, thanks, mother!" Morgan chased after her. "I'll beat you tonight!"

"If you're as sharp with chess as you are with your tactics, I've no doubt that you will."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 **Slight side note; why do OC protagonists for DDLC seem to focus heavily on Monika? (For romance, anyways.) There's still three other girls here guys..**

 **And why so many self-insert stories?**

 **Eh, whatever. That ain't got nothing to do with this.**

 **Onwards, towards the eighth chapter!**

Morgan grunted as he dropped down a cliff. "Ugh!" he gasped, staggering upon impact. "Man... still shaky from that last battle..."

They had done it. Through a brilliant strategy they had managed to defeat the Conqueror Walhart.

Though not at a heavy price. His face lost his smile and an overwhelming urge to scream rose from within him.

"Cynthia..." The word came out. The Pegasus Knight had taken a harsh blow and was currently in a coma, though her wounds had mostly healed. At the same time, Yarne had been struck by a Beast Killer, which had left him in equally bad shape.

And Nah...

Morgan shook his head. "Should've seen that Wyrmslayer coming," he growled out through clenched teeth. As he spoke, however, he felt an odd tingle along his left arm. He grimaced, recalling the Arcwind spell, cutting through some of his nerves, weakened from the spear fragments from that day that seemed so long ago, though in reality was not even a month ago. Brady had managed to use a Mend spell to reconnect the severed tendons, however.

He gritted his teeth. Thinking about the past wouldn't change anything.

 _At least there weren't any casualties among the Shepherds._ Morgan glanced along the ground, the rich green grass flowing outwards.

He breathed out, staring out over the sea the cliff overlooked. The sun shone down on the glistening waves below, which lapped at the coarse, dry (and gets everywhere, he thought wryly) sand, washing it away to reveal a few shining stones.

"Huh... nah, this ain't it." He palmed his face at his wording. "Ugh... what was it again...? Large cliffs... far away from human civilization...?" Morgan looked outwards over the wide view. "Hm... nope, not here." He pulled out an Elwind tome and used the spell's momentum to propel himself from the cliff he'd dropped down to, back to another cliff.

"Hm...? Morgan." Gerome was sitting next to Minerva, within a tall tree's shade.

"Hey, Gerome." Morgan withdrew his tome and walked over to his companion. "It's a really nice day, isn't it?"

"Yes," replied the Wyvern Rider, closing his eyes.

Morgan narrowed his eyes. "Hey... have you heard of Naga's Bell?"

"No." Gerome looked at him. "Why do you ask?"

Morgan shrugged. "Nah wanted me to find one... and it'd be a pretty good gift for when she wakes up." He looked back to the masked Shepherd. "Hm... hey, uh..." _What do I say?_ "Do you... like Cynthia?"

The Wyvern Rider sighed. "Begone, Morgan. I don't wish to speak about that." With his words, a slight blush underneath his mask.

"Heh... sorry." Morgan looked elsewhere, beginning to walk away. "Huh..."

 _We're not gonna be staying here too much longer... we're only still here because the army and the Shepherds have so many injured._

 _Is Naga's Bell even here...?_

Morgan sighed. "Well, just gotta keep trying." He waved to Gerome, who waved back. The tactician walked along the dusty road, with little attention as to where he was walking.

 _Well... there is one location I can see from here that meets the criteria._ He looked at a distant mountain.

 _Why's it have to be so far away from where camp is, though?_

* * *

"Oof," grunted Morgan, reaching the top _at last_. "Ugh... that took a while." He rolled his shoulder with a sigh, taking a seat. "Phew..."

It had been midday when he started towards the mountain; despite his great physical ability the climb was... exhausting, to say the least.

He breathed out, looking up at the stars, letting himself simply relax, the cool night air branching to scratch at his skin.

Morgan removed his cloak with a groan, standing up despite the protest of his muscles.

Illuminated by the moon through some clouds was a single, seemingly apparent flower.

A smile came to his face as he walked over to said flower, inspecting it. To say the flower was beautiful would be a gross understatement. Though it looked fragile at first glance, as he bent over to take a better look. it carried strength within it. And there was a visible aura surrounding it, as if it was taking in the moonlight as an augmentation for its beauty.

"This has to be it," he spoke aloud. "Naga's Bell." He then paused. "Wonder how I'll take it home with me without damaging it."

A growl came from in front of him, and he leapt away as he heard a heavy weapon swing at him.

The Steel Sword missed, though the Risen wielding it simply hissed and lunged for him.

Morgan turned and ran, forcing his cloak haphazardly around his body as he went by. He looked behind him to see more Risen joining the first to pursue him.

"Damn!" he cursed, drawing the Iron Sword inside his cloak and blocking a slash. "Hah!" Stepping in close, a reverse grip stab felled the unholy foe.

Forcing his blade out the side, Morgan rolled from a Silver Lance. Getting back to his feet he threw his sword up and readied his Thunder tome.

"Wha..." Looking around him there were quite a few Risen. More then enough to surround him, in fact.

"Aw, man... this isn't my lucky day," he commented. "Well, it kinda was, finding Naga's Bell and all, but..." Morgan shook his head. _I gotta think! There's has to be a way to do this without getting killed!_

"HAH!" shouted a familiar voice; the harsh roar of a wyvern sounded, and Morgan could see Gerome use a Steel Axe to cut a Risen apart.

"Hey, Gerome!" he called, casting a Thunder spell to defeat another Risen, the lightning magic enough to fell the enemy in one blow. "Cover me for a second!" Without waiting for a response he ran for the flower.

"Morgan, what are you-" A loud sigh came from the Wyvern Rider, and his mount roared, using her powerful jaws to snap up a Risen.

Morgan grunted, pulling out his sword to block an axe strike. _Pretty strong... but..._ "Checkmate!" he smirked, channeling his magical reserves into his arm, cutting the foe in two with ease.

He ducked under another attack and dashed ever closer for the flower. _Mother taught me how to better wield Ignis, but I still don't have the hang of it!_ Morgan maneuvered into a slide, managing to get right next to Naga's Bell.

"Gotcha!" With a careful hand he picked it, and looked up to see an axe rush at him.

It was too close. Much too close.

"GWAH!" he screamed, staggering back from the heavy swing. "Ugh!" Despite the pain flaring throughout his body, he didn't drop the flower.

Morgan grunted and rolled away from a Swordmaster. Hissing, he dropped Naga's Bell in his pocket and pulled out his tome, firing spells in random directions behind him as he ran.

Looking forward he could see Gerome take to the air, using his axe to cut apart another Risen. "Morgan!" he called, extending a hand toward the tactician.

"Yeah!" Morgan panted as he ran, dropping the Thunder tome in his other pocket and taking longer strides. He leapt to his companion, reaching out with a hand.

In the corner of his eyes Morgan saw an archer release an arrow, and Gerome quickly jerked back his steed's reins to evade the attack.

Which left Morgan tumbling over the side of the cliff.

"OH NO-" The tactician gasped as he hit a rock jutting out the face of the cliff, and rolled off it to hit something else, and off that to fall further. "AGH!"

"MORGAN!" he heard somebody shout. Then a strong hand grasped his body, halting him from landing on a rough, painful surface.

"Ugh..." he groaned, trying to look at whoever had caught him. "Gerome...?"

"Wha... no, it's Cynthia!" The Pegasus Knight's chirpy voice sprang across his drowsy senses.

"Cynthia...?" Morgan shook his head, hissing in pain as she heaved him on the back of her mount. "You... when'd you wake up?"

"A little while ago," she answered, turning her attention to her pegasus, and dodging a throwing axe. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" With expert control, Cynthia maneuvered her mount around, ascending towards Gerome and Minvera. "Hey, how are your wounds?"

"Oh," spoke Morgan, wincing as he opened up his cloak for a better analysis at his body. The sharp puncture wounds were oozing worrying amounts of blood. "Ugh..." He pulled a Vulnerary from his pocket. "This should be enough until Brady can look at me..." He ingested the medicine, the rather pleasant taste of several herbs sweetened by honey sweeping his taste buds. "Ah..."

"Morgan!" The tactician looked to the side as he heard Gerome's voice. "My apologies... are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he spoke, cracking his neck. "Don't worry about it. I'm not dead, so everything's alright."

Gerome sighed. "Still, that does not-" He flinched, gasping as an arrow struck Minvera. The wyvern screeched and fell, struggling to stay up in the air despite the harsh injury to its wing. The quick drop was enough for Gerome to fall from his mount, releasing a cry as he fell.

"Ugh... get him, Cynthia!" shouted Morgan, and the Pegasus Knight descended sharply. Shifting to one side Gerome was caught. "Gh..." Peering over the side, Morgan saw Minvera land on safe ground at the bottom of the cliff. "Huh... all three of us together are probably too heavy for your pegasus," he realized.

"Watch out!" spoke Gerome, using his axe to deflect an arrow coming at Cynthia's face. "Are you okay?!"

Cynthia nodded, sweating as she got her mount to drop down beside Minvera. "Unh..." She leaned heavily against her pegasus, which whinnied back at her. With a shaky hand she stroked its mane, whispering nothings in its ears.

"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Morgan. _It wasn't that long, but she's sweating like..._ He shook his head. _Of course. When I left, she was still in a coma. She couldn't have regained much energy._

 _Wait... if she still in a coma, how'd she get out here so fast?!_

"Cynthia," spoke Morgan. "I'm grateful that you're here... but how'd you know I was here?"

"Oh, that...?" She managed to chuckle, wiping her forehead. "I woke up and asked where Gerome was... he was still at camp at that time, on night patrol." clarified Cynthia. "He said he saw you scale this cliff and was gonna go after you..." She swallowed, grasping at her side with a wince. "So... I went as soon as Aunt Lissa left, saying I should rest. I mean... if he's being a hero, I can't just let him go alone!"

"Foolish, Cynthia," murmured Gerome, still looking over Minvera. "You should be stayed at camp."

"No use arguing about it," spoke Morgan, interrupting Cynthia's response. "What's done is done, and... huh?"

He glanced upwards at a loud growl to see Risen descend the face of the cliff. "Oh, shoot!" He pulled out his tome as a few dropped in front of him. He used a Thunder spell, and the foe in front of him fell. "Guh?!" He staggered as a couple spells struck him. "Wha..."

Looking to the side, quite a distance away, he found the culprit. The Sorcerer Risen seemed to... smirk somehow, preparing another Mire attack.

"HYAH!" roared a familiar female voice, before a Javelin impaled the enemy.

Clutching at his new wounds, Morgan smiled at the new arrival. "Lucina."

"Hello, Morgan," spoke the princess, pulling out her Falchion. "It seems that you have gotten into... a bit of a mess this time." She looked over the rest of her allies. "Are you all alright?!"

"Mostly," spoke Morgan. "But Minvera took a bad hit and Cynthia and her mount are fatigued." He glanced the Lucina again. "How did you even find us?"

"Gerome wasn't the most stealthy and I took quick notice of my sister's absence," spoke Lucina, looking at the Pegasus Knight with stern eyes. "And from there, the sounds of shouts, cries and fighting was enough."

"Alright..." Morgan shook his head. "Wait, no! We gotta run and get everyone else! We can't take on this many like this!" He neared Lucina, pulling out his sword. "You and I cover the rear as we retreat, Cynthia and Gerome are too..."

"Mm." Lucina glanced toward the sheer number before them all. "Cynthia, Gerome. The two of you retreat. Morgan and I will be right behind you."

"We can't just leave you like that, Lucy!" called Cynthia, posture improper and slumped despite her words. "A real hero wouldn't-"

Lucina swung as a Risen rushed for her, cutting it apart with ease. "GO! Now."

Gerome gritted his teeth. "Cynthia." Morgan heard the wyvern rider sigh before a cool. windy breeze rushed forth behind Lucina and himself, signalling the two's leave.

Lucina breathed out, glancing forward. "What were you even doing here, Morgan?" With a harsh grunt she cut down another Risen.

"Well... Nah wanted me to help find something for her," he replied. "Hah!" He streaked forward and slashed, the monster falling in two pieces. "And... she specified that it could only be found on sheer cliffs faraway from human... civilization, I think? Something close to that." He winced as he used his sword to slay another Risen. "Tch..."

The princess glanced towards him. "Take this." She reached out and passed a Concoction. "You run. I'll be right behind you."

Swallowing the bitter medicine he shook his head, feeling a great degree of his wounds fade in intensity. "Thanks!" He started to dash away, looking back at Lucina as he did so. "Lucina!"

She gave a deft nod, utilizing her Falchion to cut down those nearest to her before running after him.

He released a heavy breath as he leapt over a boulder in his path, a low growl betraying the hiding Risen just before it came out with a lance to stab him. "Whoa!" Raising his sword instinctively he managed to divert the attack to scratch the side of his body. "You...! Checkmate!" He channeled some magical energy into his arm, feeling it burn red hot before his next swing sent the two halves of the now dead Risen's body flying, turning to liquid shadow mid-air.

"Hah... hah..." Morgan groaned, falling to one knee, the agony of using Ignis fading from his limb. "Damn..." He withdrew his sword, staggering as he arises. "Hah..." He clutched to his arm, every jolt that came with each step causing pain throughout his entire body. "Lucina?!"

"Still behind you!" he heard her declare, the "swish" and grunt signalling a swift swing of her Falchion. "Keep going!"

He panted, forcing himself to look ahead, where a few Risen waited. "Let's see..." He pulled out the old Thunder tome, noting its ragged condition, before raising his arm to aim. As he did so, the aftereffect pain of Ignis seemed to strengthen, and his arm dropped causing his spell to rush past them. "That's not good...!"

Lucina's breath seemed to give a soft kiss to his face as she ran past, pulling out her Javelin to slay the Risen in their path with one toss. Retrieving her weapon she turned back to him, drawing her sacred blade once more. "C'mon, Morgan!"

The tactician nodded, managing to dash after the princess, into the dark, away from the many monsters still following.

* * *

"Where did you go, Morgan?" Robin looked at her future son. "You've been missing for half the day and you show up with Lucina and a few dozen Risen following you. And before that, an injured Gerome and Cynthia return to warn that you two were in trouble against an insanity's worth of Risen."

Morgan rubbed his weary eyes, feeling his arm twinge as he used it. "Nah wanted me to find Naga's Bell, so I went to that mountain to try and find it." Reaching into his cloak, it came up in his hands, and he blinked, eyes widening. "Huh... it survived... whole."

"Must be a miracle," spoke the Grandmaster, standing from where she had been sitting. "Well... above all else... I'm glad you're safe. That's the most important part. Though in the future... I would like it if you told me you were going on any expeditions like that before you do so. I was worried sick."

"I'm sorry, Mother." He looked down into the flower in his hands, feeling her gaze on him.

She sighed. "So long as you understand." Robin's eyes shifted onto Naga's Bell. "You wanted to give that to Nah, right? Well, she awoke just a little before we went out to help you and Lucina against the pursuing Risen." Her eyes twinkled with her next words. "Now may be a good time to give that to her."

"Mm... thanks, Mother." He stood. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Have a good night, son."

Morgan exited the tent, breathing in the night's cold air, looking upwards to where more clouds gathered. Placing the flower back into his cloak he made his way over to a certain, fairly large tent.

He swallowed, entering before any excuses could settle in his mind.

Cynthia was lying in a bed, a peaceful expression present on her face. Next to her was...

"Nah," he spoke, voice quiet.

Her green eyes opened in the darkness of the tent in response to her name. "Morgan..." Her eyes drift to the pegasus knight beside her, toning her own voice down. "Are you alright? Gerome said you and Lucina were..."

"I'm fine," he spoke, walking over to her. "Well... anyways..." He reached into his cloak again and pressed Naga's Bell into one of her small, warm hands. "Here."

She stared at the flower. "This is..."

"Naga's Bell," spoke Morgan. "I... got lucky. I was, uh... just taking a, a nice hike, getting to see the surrounding area before we left to go home... it was just right there, almost unnoticeable. I guess Naga must've sent us some good luck or something, right?"

"Mm... well, thank you for doing this, Morgan." Nah offered him a smile. "Naga should be happy with this. I know I am."

"That's great to hear!" he replied, grinning. "Whenever you're happy, I am too." Morgan swallowed, his face feeling hot after his words. Ugh, why'd I say that? "And... uh... I hope Naga grants that prayer of yours too."

"I'm sure she will," spoke Nah, holding up Naga's Bell.

Morgan yawned, grunting as he cracked his neck. "Anyways, I'm pretty tired. Good night, Nah." He walked over to the entrance, drawing the cloak's hood over his face. "See you tomorrow."

"Ah... good-bye, then, Morgan. And thank you again!" The half-dragon nodded towards him.

He exited with a breath, looking up towards the late night sky, rubbing his heated face.

Morgan sighed, rubbing his eyes as he made his way back to his own tent.

 _I shouldn't feel this way about Nah, but..._

"I love her," he whispered.

* * *

Nah rubbed her eyes with a brief sigh. "Stop pretending you're asleep, Cynthia."

The pegasus knight opened her eyes with a groan. "Wow... you and Morgan are really good friends now."

"...Yes." Nah looked at the flower in her hands, twisting it around for different angles to more closely admire its beauty. "If you were awake, you should've shown it. I'm sure he was worried about you."

"Yeah, I guess," mused Cynthia. "But how could I ruin such a moment between you two? That's a big step forward in your relationship! Like... at least one fourth of a step!"

Nowi's daughter rolled her eyes, resting the flower in a small vase.

Cynthia released a breath. "Are you still hung up on Morgan killing Laurent?"

"I... can't say I can just ignore that," spoke Nah, turning away.

"Look... that's in the past. Morgan's trying to atone now, you can see that, right? He was the one who found that flower for you, and he got really hurt when he was doing it!" Cynthia's bed shifted; she faced Nah now. "What do you honestly feel for him?"

The half-dragon girl sighed again, facing her friend again. "I... he's kind, funny, smart and studious..."

"Yeah...?" The expectant look in the pegasus knight's eyes seemed to pry into Nah. "But under all that... what do you really think?"

"He's... he's my best friend."

Cynthia groaned into her pillow. "You can't be serious." She looked at Nah with a more intense look now. "Look... don't try to lie to yourself because of Laurent!" Her eyes softened. "He would've wanted you to be happy."

 _That's easy for you to say,_ thought Nah, glancing away. _You never loved him. And..._

"Well, good night, Nah." Cynthia allowed her head to rest on her pillow. "Really, though. If anything else, don't lie to yourself about what you feel." She turned on her side and was still, drifting off to sleep.

Nah looked at the lower in the vase again, sighing, feeling her face grow warm.

 _I love him._

"But..." Her next words were a whisper as she looked to her hands, which were shaking.

"I don't want to be left alone again."


End file.
